Peripeteia
In dramatic structure, a sudden and complete reversal of the protagonist's situation from good to bad (or bad to good), often paired with anagnorisis. Peripeteia creates the turning point of the narrative.
Real World
In Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex', the messenger arrives intending to relieve Oedipus's fears about his parentage but instead triggers the revelation that he killed his father and married his mother — a single moment that reverses his entire fortune.
Exam Focus
Identify the precise moment of reversal and explain how the protagonist's own actions cause it for full AO2 credit.
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